1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for diagnosing breakdowns of a switch typically used in a communications network, and more particularly to a system and method for diagnosing breakdowns of a switch by observing displays of a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) on a front panel of the switch.
2. Prior Art
When a communications network breaks down, an administrator of the network usually determines whether a power supply and ports of a network device are in working order by observing displays of LEDs on a front panel of the network device. Subsequently, the administrator may check the internal hardware or software of the network device. At present, a switch can display the operation statuses of a power supply, a redundant power supply (RPS), and a plurality of ports by using plural LEDs dynamically. However, there are generally several switches that have a great deal of ports. Accordingly, a great many port LEDs are needed for denoting various working statuses of all the ports. In addition, each port generally has three basic operational characteristics: a link/activity status, a speed status, and a full/half duplex status. Therefore, each port needs at least three port LEDs to display the three operational characteristics. If the total number of port LEDs is too great, it is difficult to readily observe the display of each port LED.
Therefore, a new, simplified system and method for diagnosing breakdowns of a switch by using plural LEDs are needed.